St Andrew's Day

30 November

The 30th of November is marked in honour of St Andrew, the Patron Saint of Scotland.

You might consider serving fish on this day because St Andrew was a fisherman.

On the night before St Andrew's Day, single Scottish girls could pray to him for a husband. If a single girl could peel an apple in a whole, unbroken peel and then throw the peel over her shoulder, it would reputedly form where it fell on the floor the first initial of her future husband's name.

Special Christmas markets start opening at this time of year.

St Andrew's Day was traditionally celebrated more abroad than at home. It is not a national holiday in Scotland. In fact, in 2004, only about 1/4 of Scots actually knew when the day was. Only in 1996 did St Andrew's, Scotland start holding a St Andrew's week, with music contests, fiddlers, dancing, porridge-making contests and fireworks. The Scottish government is now using the day to promote Scottish culture and trade.

The Scottish flag, called the "Saltire", displays the cross of St. Andrew. The cross is also incorporated into the British Union Jack, and into the flag of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The other flag of Scotland, with the lion rampant on it, is the Royal Standard of Scotland.

Greece, Romania and Russia also claim St Andrew as a patron saint.

History Notes

Andrew was a fisherman, like his brother Peter. He and his brother Peter were amongst the 12 apostles. He is said to have to killed by the Romans in Patras, Southern Greece on a X-shaped cross (a "Crux decussata"), thus the X-shape of his cross on the Scottish flag. Some earlier versions of his life, however, had said the Romans nailed him to an olive tree: the X-shaped cross version doesn't seem to have been introduced until around the 900s.

Reputedly St Andrew's cross appeared to an Angus (aka Oengus or Ungus) Macfergus (c. 731-761), leading an army of Picts against Saxon invaders near what is now called Athelstaneford (though much of the story is suspect, never mind the cross appearing in the sky). The Scots were consequently inspired eventually to make his cross the flag of Scotland, with the blue background representing the sky.

His bones were moved to Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine. Some of this bones were also taken to Scotland by St Rule (aka St Regulus, though it's highly doubtful such a person existed under either name) or by Bishop Acca of Hexham in 733 AD and placed in a chapel at St Andrews (later a Cathedral started in 1160). The bones were probably destroyed during the Protestant Reformation in Scotland and the Cathedral is now in ruins. The bones that were left in Constantinople were stolen from it in 1210 by Italians and brought to the church of Sant' Andrea Amalfi, Italy.

A piece of shoulder bone was sent back to Scotland in 1879 by the Archbishop of Amalfi. In 1964, Pope Paul VI gave Andrew's head to Patras, Greece, and in 1969, a few more bones to Scottish Cardinal Gordon Gray. In Scotland, his bones are now in St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Literature & Lore

A few books not included in the New Testament because they are considered apocryphal are the Acts of Andrew, Acts of Andrew and Matthias, and Acts of Peter and Andrew.

Page Index

Bon mots

"I have no doubt that it is part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals, as surely as the savage tribes have left off eating each other when they came in contact with each other."